Jedziah couldn’t sleep. She had been tossing and turning in her bunk for hours. First she was too hot, then she was too cold. She thought maybe it was hot flashes, but she was far too young for that. Besides, when she was honest with herself, she knew what was troubling her so; Roc Wieler.

She wasn’t attracted to the man per se, but there was something so appealing about him. It was common knowledge that Mynxee had staked her claim on the Colonel, and Jedziah felt no jealousy whatsoever, so whatever the attraction was, it wasn’t romantic in nature. She fought with herself into the long hours of the night, fighting against the truth she had known all along; she was attracted to all he epitomized.

As soon as she admitted it to herself, she felt much of the tension leave her shoulders. What was it about him though? She had good FCs in the Bastards, guys like FlashFresh, whom could run a professional, disciplined fleet with the best of them. It wasn’t that. It was definitely not the appeal of a military life; Jedziah was a pirate through and through.

It dawned on her suddenly, causing her to sit bolt upright in bed. It was the “rightness” with which he carried himself. His convictions, his unwavering belief in his cause; that was the source of attraction. It was mesmerizing now that she allowed herself to focus on this issue. Roc Wieler was a man possessed by his sheer dedication to what he thought was right. He was a force of nature; unmovable, unstoppable, incorruptible. Sure, he came across arrogant as hell, but she could see that wasn’t it; that was merely what he allowed others to see on the surface. No, there was most assuredly a lot more to this man than met the eye, should one choose to look beyond the shell.

There was no sleeping now. She admitted a heartfelt truth to herself. Her pulse quickened at the implications. She couldn’t just dismiss it; she couldn’t deny it. She wanted whatever it was Roc Wieler had. She wanted to live that life, to have convictions that strong about anything, to make a difference; to do what was right.

That was the key to it all, she realized with more raw introspection. She knew in her heart that the life she was leading, the life she recruited others into, didn’t have that settling “rightness” about it. It simply was what it was; neither good nor evil, and yet real evil existed in New Eden, and here she was doing nothing about it.

What was that saying? she thought to herself. For evil to triumph, good men have only to do nothing, or something along those lines. Her eyes opened wide, as she dug deeper still into her moral conscience. She realized she would never get a good night’s sleep until she answered herself honestly, in a way that was proving very life changing, and uncomfortable.

What was the cost of doing right? And did it really matter? That was the lesson here; that is what she had learned from the Colonel. He had humbled himself to serve jail time when he easily could’ve walked away. He volunteered to work with pirates simply to try to achieve an advantage over his enemy. She herself had been there when he agreed to the command to fire on anything not in fleet. That couldn’t have gone over well with his militia superiors. And yet he had done it all, and would do it again, because he believed ridding this galaxy of the Amarr was right.

And with growing trepidation, Jedziah believed it too.

She looked at her watch; 2:35 AM.

She pounced out of bed, her heart racing, and began packing her things. She would give her formal resignation in the morning.

Jedziah was going to fight for the Tribal Liberation Force.

—

THE HUB BAR & GRILL

The bartender looked at his chrono again; just past 3AM. He continued scrubbing the bar countertop, mumbling too himself about wanting to go home and get some sleep. There was a single patron still in the bar, a very tall, very attractive, red haired woman sitting alone on a barstool, nursing another drink. She had kept to herself, and was tipping well, so he had stayed open. That was two hours ago, and now he was getting a little unnerved.

Another woman entered the bar. This one was also very attractive, though shorter, and with dark hair. She walked right up to the bar stool beside the other woman and took a seat, resting on her elbows to look directly at the taller gal.

“What’s doin Mynx?” Venom said cheerfully.

Mynxee put down her glass, and raised her hand, two fingers extended, indicating she wanted two more shots. The bartender threw a cleaning rag over his shoulder, poured the drinks, and placed them on the counter in front of them. Mynxee handed one to Venom, and raised her shot glass in a toast.

“To Colonel Roc Wieler, that sunuvabitch.” she proclaimed through slurred speech, clinking her small glass against Venom’s, nearly spilling its contents on them both.

Both women drank their shots, firmly slamming the glasses against the counter top. “Men.” Venom said, a sly grin on her face. She was new to the Hellcats, but had quickly proven herself to Mynxee, and had no fear of speaking to her bluntly as a friend. “Got what he wanted and left, eh?” she said.

Mynxee allowed herself a deep and troubled laugh, which caused Venom to hesitate a little. She knew that Roc and Mynxee had spent the night together, hell, everyone knew, but did Mynxee actually care for him? Had she gone and fallen for an upright militia Colonel? She hoped not. But what if she had? Was that really so bad? It was often said you didn’t choose whom you loved; it was love that chooses you.

In her experience that was bunk, but then again, Venom enjoyed the hunt more than anything. Men were play things for her amusement.

Mynxee started crying, and Venom realized just how emotionally fragile she was right then. She had never seen the leader of the Hellcats cry.

“Dammit!” Mynxee screamed suddenly, scaring both Venom and the bartender. “How did I let him get to me, Venom? How did I lose my cool? I never let them get to me, never.”

Venom didn’t really know what to say; she didn’t know what to do. She had never been in love herself, but they all had seen the warning signs early on between Roc and Mynxee. This was bad for the corp. This must be even worse for Mynxee. But Venom was a friend first and foremost. That is what built loyalty more than anything else. She took a deep breath before speaking her next sentence, and couldn’t believe the words coming from her mouth.

“Then go get him.” That was all she said.

“What?” Mynxee looked at her, her grey eyes even more beautiful with tears.

“Go.Get.Him.” Venom smiled. If this is what Mynxee wanted, then damn everything else in the way. She deserved happiness more than anyone else Venom had ever met, and if Venom could help bring that happiness into Mynxee’s life, then she would do everything in her power to make it happen.

Mynxee blinked at her a few times, bewildered by what she had said, mulling it over in her mind. It was such a simple idea, but such an honest truth. Why not? Why not go get him? Why not show him how she felt? Because she had responsibilities here. She had the Hellcats. She had worked too hard to get them to where they were now, to have membership in the Bastards Alliance. Besides, Mynxee didn’t believe in Roc’s war; she had no interest in joining the Minimatar military.

She blinked a few more times, her mouth slightly open, not sure what to say. Venom filled the gap for her. “Just go. don’t overthink it, don’t overanalyze all the why nots, just listen to your heart and go. It’s what you want or you wouldn’t bloody well be sitting here at this hour drinking yourself into a stupor. Go.” Venom’s voice was rising in volume, her words becoming more passionate the longer she spoke.

Just go. She could do it. She knew where Roc was based out of; Dal system. It wasn’t that far. And she didn’t have to enlist. She could simply fly with him, give it a try, see if there was any appeal to her to live that life. She just wanted to be near him. Damn him to hell.

“Come with.” was all that came out of Mynxee’s mouth. “Come with me, Venom.” she said.

“HELL yes!” Venom replied with no hesitation whatsoever.

The two of them smiled, and ordered another round of drinks. They weren’t sure of the details of it all, but they had made their decision.